Matchmaker Yugi Motou: Anzu and the Pharoah
by Shadow Elf Warrior
Summary: While duelling Yami, Yugi uncovers an interesting fact. Yami, knowing how Yugi gets when this happens, fights to keep that fact hidden. But what does Anzu have to do with this? Complete!
1. The Duel

**_AN: ok, so here's a new fic, basically it will center on just how much of an imp Yugi will be whiling playing as a matchmaker. and guess who the victims are? as usual, it's Yami and Anzu. now i know in my story, Caught Under The Mistletoe, i use Yami's real name, but i decided that since Yami's real name holds so much power, it would only be used amongst his closest friends. at least in this story._**

**_Disclaimer: i do not own Yu-Gi-Oh, never have and never will. \sits in a corner and cries/_**

* * *

Anzu watched in awe as Yugi and the Pharaoh, now in his own body, battled in duel after duel in Kaiba's latest tournament. And as expected, they were dominating it. And as always, Anzu and Honda were there to cheer them on. Poor Jonouchi had made it to the final four before getting knocked out by Yugi. Typically, Kaiba had gone up against Yami in the semi-finals, and had lost, miserably. Jonouchi had burst out laughing, saying that Kaiba would never learn that he'd never beat Yami. 

It was now down to the final match, and it came as no surprise to anyone that it was Yugi and Yami against each other.

"Gah!" Jonouchi moaned, scratching the back of his head in irritation. "I don't even know which one to cheer for."

"Yeah, I know what you mean." Honda said, crossing his arms and nodding. "Those two are the best in the whole world. Even Kaiba can't beat 'em!"

"Be quiet, you two!" Anzu broke in. "They're starting." She would never say it aloud, but she was hoping that Yami would win. She didn't want either of the guys to discover that, however. They'd tease her about it till kingdom come!

Yugi and Yami exchanged decks and shuffled them.

Yami smirked. "So, here we are once again." He said.

Yugi snorted. "Not surprising." He replied. "After all, you are the best in the world. Plus you've been training me for years." He noticed that Yami kept sneaking glances at the audience. Following his gaze, Yugi saw that his partner and brother-in-arms was looking over at their only female friend, Anzu.

Quickly putting two and two together, Yugi smirked and raised an eyebrow at Yami. "So… See something interesting?" He drawled, waiting to see his reaction to his words. And he was not disappointed.

Yami snapped his gaze back to Yugi, and flinched at his lighter half's look, completely unable to stop to flush from creeping up his face. '_Aw, shoot!_' he mentally moaned. '_Am I really that obvious?_'

Yugi must've known exactly what was going through his mind, because his smirk became a wide grin. "Yes, you most definitely are that obvious." He turned and walked away, completely missing the bone-chilling glare that Yami sent him, before whipping around and stalking off to his position.

Down in the audience, Anzu, Honda, and Jonouchi watched the exchange in confusion.

"What was that all about?" Honda asked, raising an eyebrow. "I've never seen those two act like that."

Jonouchi frowned. "I know what you mean. Those two are closer than brothers, and they make a great team." He shook his head. "Even when they're opponents, they're always so respectful."

Yugi and Yami faced each other, waiting for Kaiba's right-hand man to announce the start of the duel.

Roland stepped between the two duellists. Although he wasn't a duelist himself, he could feel the hostility between the two long-time comrades. Clearing his throat, he began the opening ceremonies.

"Ladies and Gentlemen! It's time for the final round and it's Champions Yugi and Yami Motou facing each other. These two brothers have battled their way to the top once again. Who will prevail?" He raised his hand up high. "Let the Championship Duel begin!" Quickly, he scooted off the arena. He'd witnessed more than enough of their duels to know how fierce they could get. And he had no desire to get caught in the crossfire.

"Let's duel!" Yugi and Yami said in unison, drawing their first hands.

"I'll start things off." Yugi said. He drew a card and put it in his hand. "I play a card face-down, and then I place Neo the Magic Swordsman in attack mode." The holograms appeared on the field, and he looked across the field. "Your move."

"Very well." Yami drew his card. "I play the Skilled Dark Magician in attack mode. Next I play this card face-down. And now, Skilled Dark Magician, attack his Magic Swordsman!"

"Not so fast! I activate my face-down card!" Yugi pressed the button on his duel disk. "Negate Attack! This card stops your Magician dead in his tracks." Yugi smirked. "And it forces you to end your battle phase."

Yami growled softly. "Very well. I end my turn."

Jonouchi whistled. "Yugi's been coming up with his own deck and strategies, and I can tell you that they work. When I duelled against him, I had my entire strategy based on his usual deck, but since Yami has that one, I was completely caught off guard."

Honda grinned, nudging him. "That's for sure! He totally mopped the floor with you in five minutes flat!"

Jonouchi growled, and would have punched Honda, but Anzu grabbed both of their ears, making them both yelp in pain.

"Will the two of you shut up? We're watching the duel, not you two idiots."

"I summon Hoshiningen in attack mode!" A small yellow, star-shaped creature appeared, and several girls in the audience squealed.

"Aww! It's so cute!" A young girl directly behind Jonouchi screeched, making him flinch and rub his ears, glaring over his shoulder at the girl.

Yugi grinned at his friend's all too obvious wince. "Apparently you know of my creature's special ability. Hoshiningen gives Light monsters a 500 point power boost, while Dark monsters, like your Magician, lose 400 points!" Yugi's Swordsman now had 2200 attack points, while Yami's Magician dropped to 1500. "I'll play two cards face-down," he paused, looking up at Yami, who was bracing himself for Yugi's attack. "and I'll end my turn."

Yami blinked. "What?" He frowned, and tried to fathom Yugi's plan.

'_Okay, two cards face-down, and two powered-up Light monsters, and he doesn't attack me? Is he worried about my face-down card?_' He glanced at it. '_Or is it some strategy he's never used before?_' Yami sighed. '_He's definitely been training on his own._'

"Come on, Yami!" Yugi shouted across the field. "It's your move!" He grinned, delighted that he'd completely thrown his darker half off balance with his new tactic. '_You're never going to figure it out._'

Yami shook his head. "Alright!" He drew his card, and his eyes widened. '_This is-_' He looked at Yugi and smirked. With this, he could use that annoying monster's effect against Yugi.

Yugi frowned. '_I don't like that smirk._' He thought, shivering slightly. '_And I have the very disturbing feeling that I'm about to find out why._' To be completely honest, Yami's smirk gave him the creeps. Especially since when he smirked while duelling, it always meant certain doom for whomever he was facing.

Yami smirk broadened at Yugi's obvious discomfort. "I don't like those face-down cards, so I'll just get rid of them," He placed a card in the Magic slot. "by playing this, Giant Trunade!"

A humongous gust of wind picked up and the three face-down cards on the field returned to their owner's hands. Simultaneously, one of the spell counters on the Skilled Dark Magician lit up.

"Oh no!" Yugi groaned. He had to admit, he hadn't seen that one coming. Yami was typically an offensive duellist, not obviously paying attention to any face-down cards. Instead, he simply set up counter spells and traps. But this time, he'd chosen to get rid of the threat first. And at the same time, he'd gained a spell counter for his Magician.

Yugi growled. "Great, just great."

Yami continued his turn. "Next, I summon Magician's Valkyria in attack mode!" He looked across the field. "And since Valkyria is a Light monster, she also gets a power boost from your Hoshiningen." The Magician's Valkyria now had 2100 attack points. "And now, attack, Valkyria! Destroy his Hoshiningen! Mystic Sceptre Blast!" Hoshiningen was destroyed, leaving Yugi with 2900 life points.

"Now that you power boost is gone, your Magic Swordsman drops back to 1700 points, and my Skilled Dark Magician returns to 1900. And I'll use it to destroy your Swordsman!" Yugi's life points dropped to 2700. "I'll end my turn with a card face-down on the field."

"Aw, man!" Honda exclaimed. "Yugi's got no monsters left. I wonder if he has a plan."

"My move!" Yugi drew a card. "I play Pot of Greed! This card lets me draw two additional cards." He drew his cards, and another counter on the Skilled Dark Magician lit up. "What? Why did it light up? You haven't played a magic card."

Yami chuckled. "You're right, I didn't. But you did. My Magician's effect applies to both of us."

Yugi groaned. "I forgot about that." He shrugged. "Oh well. Too late now. Well, one of my cards was the monster Watapon. And since I drew using a magic card, I can special summon it to the field." He placed it on the field. "I'll also play a card face-down, and summon a monster face-down in defence mode. Your move." '_Come on,_' he thought. '_Take the bait. You know you want to._'

Yami drew his card, and looked at it. He gazed out at the field, frowning slightly. '_Yugi obviously wants me to attack him. He must be planning to do something to my monsters._' His gaze shifted to his creatures. '_But what?_' He grinned a little. '_Alright, Yugi! I'll take your bait._'

"I pay two cards face-down, and next I'll attack your face-down monster with my Skilled Dark Magician!"

Yugi grinned as Yami stared in shock at the small pink creature that appeared.

"I'm sure you recognize this little guy from another duel." He said gleefully.

"Not Marshmallon!" Yami groaned. "It just had to be that thing." He rolled his eyes, disgusted with himself. He should have known better. Yugi loved that thing, since it couldn't be destroyed in battle, and often gleefully played it against opponents like Yami, Kaiba, and especially Jonouchi. Since the three of them tended to be offensive duellists, Yugi had developed the nasty habit of using tricks and traps in order to throw them off balance, and then dart in with an effect of something and strike them before they could get their defences back together.

"Oh, yeah, you might want to pay attention." Yugi said. "Because Marshmallon's got another ability. When you attack it when it's face-down, you take 1000 points of damage."

"What?!" Yami cried. He looked down at his duel disk to see his life points drop to 3000. They were now almost equal in points. Yami was ahead by a mere 300 points. He growled. '_Damnit._' He thought. '_I thought I had everything under control._'

"Fine." He said. "I'll just attack your Watapon with my Valkyria." '_Now I just have to figure out how to get rid of that annoying pink blob._'

"It's my move!" Yugi drew a card, and frowned slightly. '_Not quite what I was hoping for, but it'll do for now._' "I play another card face-down, and summon Silent Swordsman in attack mode." He looked across at Yami. "Tell you what?" He said. "How about we make a bet? You know, just to make this more interesting."

Yami raised an eyebrow. "A bet? Hmm." He thought about it for a moment. '_Could be interesting._' "I'm listening."

"If I win, how about-" he thought for a moment about what would really enrage Yami. Looking out at the field, he gazed at the monsters Yami had out. Realizing they were both Spellcaster-type monsters, he grinned as a thought came to mind. "How about you give me your Dark Magician?"

"What?" Yami yelped. "My Dark Magician?! No way!"

Yugi knew he would get pummelled for this later, but with some luck, it would be so worth it. "No? Well, I guess I can always tell a certain someone about your little secret."

Yami frowned, confused. '_My secret? What is he talking about?_'

Yugi sighed when it became obvious that Yami was clueless. He meaningfully flicked his eyes over to where their friends, or more specifically, Anzu was sitting. He choked back a laugh when Yami coughed and his face turned red.

Yami coughed when Yugi made his point perfectly clear as he flicked his gaze towards Anzu. '_He wouldn't dare!_' Then, barely needing to think about it, he corrected himself. '_Wait. Scratch that. Yes, he most certainly would._' He scowled, glaring at the little imp. "Don't you dare." He growled.

Yugi tilted his head childishly, the very picture of innocence, except for the twinkling eyes. "Don't I dare what? Oh!" He grinned. "You mean tell your-"

"Shut up Yugi!" Yami shouted. "I mean it, don't you dare say it! Not here, not ever. Got it?" '_If he tells Anzu my secret, I'll really be in for it!'_

Anzu watched from the audience, confused by this strange turn of events. Yami almost never lost his temper, especially when the target was Yugi. And what was all this talk about Yami's secret? Anzu narrowed her eyes. Something strange was going on with those two, and despite the fact that she normally respected other people's wishes of privacy, she was determined to find out what Yugi and Yami were talking about. That determination was made all the stronger due to the fact that Anzu had seen Yugi glance meaningfully at her when he was taunting Yami about telling "a certain someone" about some secret that Yami was keeping.

Yami tried to keep his temper in check, knowing that if he lost control, it wouldn't just be words, and possibly fists that would be thrown. It would be things like lightening bolts and real monsters, and the gods only knew what else might happen. He couldn't risk Anzu discovering his secret. There was no way to tell how she'd take it. And Yugi was not helping matters at all. Yami forced himself not to look down at Anzu, else he turn even more red in the face.

Yugi had to bite the inside of his cheek in order to refrain from bursting out laughing. He'd glanced down at the audience again, to see their friends' reactions to his words, and Anzu's face was priceless. The curiosity was plain to see, but it was the determination that almost had Yugi cracking up.

Yami glared. '_I have no choice. But I'm not going to let him get away with this!_' "Alright, Yugi, I accept your terms, but here's mine. If I win, you agree to keep quiet! Are we clear?"

Yugi hid his grin. '_I knew it. He couldn't refuse my terms, and I already knew he'd say that I have to keep it to myself._' "Alright, I agree. Now, I believe it's your turn, Yami."

Yami narrowed his eyes, and gazed across the field at Yugi's most recent addition to his army. The Silent Swordsman was another of his personal favourites. At the moment it had 1000 attack points, but every turn, it would gain another level, plus an additional 500 attack points. And it was likely that the face-down card would be the magic card, Turn Jump, which would automatically skip ahead three turns, making his Swordsman grow three levels.

'_Although,_' Yami thought to himself. '_Knowing Yugi, it's probably a trap. After all, traps are his specialty._'

Yugi watched him from across the arena. '_Hmm. Looks like I managed to stump him._' He looked down at the hologram of the face-down card. '_Well, it's not like he knows that I'm bluffing._' His gaze flicked over to his monsters. '_He can't destroy my Marshmallon in battle, so if he wants to get to my life points, he's going to have to use a magic card, which would give him the final spell counter, or a special effect. So that means, if he does choose to attack, he'll come after my Swordsman._'

He looked back at his best friend, who was looking at the cards in his hand. '_Still, knowing Yami, he'll attack anyways, just to see if I am bluffing. And that's where my face-down comes into play. If he attacks, I'll activate my face-down, forcing his monsters to come to a stand-still. Although,_' he forced himself not to grimace. '_It will give him the last spell-counter he needs to summon_ him.'

Yami gazed at his cards. Something told him that attacking would be a bad idea. Just the fact that Yugi had laid a face-down card and then made that bet with him all pointed to an attack disaster. And besides, he wanted to summon his oldest friend and most trusted creature.

He drew a card, and grinned slightly. '_And this card can help me do it._'

Yugi stared. '_Uh-oh. Yami just grinned. Now I'm in for it!_'

"Oh Yugi." Yami called. "I'm sure you know what happens when my Skilled Dark Magician has three spell counters, am I right?"

Yugi stepped back in shock. "What? Oh no! That means you can summon **him**!"

"That's right!" Yami said. "And after activating this I can!" He revealed the card he just drew. "Look familiar?" He asked teasingly.

Yugi squinted across the field, and his eyes widened. "Pot of Greed! The same card I played!"

"Correct! It allows me to draw two more cards now." The third counter lit up. "And now I sacrifice my Skilled Dark Magician in order to summon my Dark Magician!" A whirl of smoke surrounded the Skilled Magician, and when it cleared, the Dark Magician was in its place.

Yugi stared across the field, two words resonating through his mind. '_I'm _**doomed.**'

"Next, instead of waiting for your face-down to be sprung by my attack, I'll destroy it with this! My Heavy Storm magic card. It destroys all magic and traps currently on the field."

Yugi watched in horror as his Nightmare Steel Cage was destroyed. "Ah." Yami said, raising an eyebrow. "So you were planning on stopping my monsters from attacking until you could level up your Swordsman, huh? Well, too bad. It's still my move and since I summoned my Dark Magician using a special effect, I can summon another monster, so I sacrifice my Magician's Valkyria in order to summon Dark Magician Girl!"

Yugi forced himself to calm down. '_Okay, so he'll attack your Swordsman. It's not the end of the duel. He can only take up to 1500 life points. And he can't destroy Marshmallon, so-_'

Yami's grin widened. "You're probably thinking that since your Marshmallon can't be destroyed in battle, you must be safe from a double attack, right?" Yugi's eyes snapped up and stared at Yami, confused by his words. "Well, normally yes, you would be. But not after I activate this." He placed the card in the slot. "My Fairy's Meteor Crush card! And I equip it to my Dark Magician Girl!"

"Oh no!" Yugi cried. "That means-"

"That I can take the difference between my Dark Magician Girl's attack points and your Marshmallon's defence points and take them directly from your life points! Dark Magician Girl, attack his Marshmallon with Dark Burning attack!"

Yugi watched in horror as his life points dropped from 2700 to 1200.

"And now to finish you off! Dark Magician, attack his Silent Swordsman with your Dark Magic Attack!"

"No!" Yugi watched helplessly as his Swordsman was destroyed, taking with it the last of his life points. The force of the attack blasted him backwards and he ended up landing a short ways away sprawled on his back.

Roland stepped up. "And Yami Motou wins the match, and is still the King of Games."

Yami walked across the field and helped Yugi to his feet. "A deal's a deal, right? So no telling!" He glared at his friend.

Yugi sighed and held his hands up in defeat. "Alright. I'll keep quiet." He grinned slightly. '_For now._' He thought to himself.

**

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**

**_AN: I'm not sure of Roland's Japanese name, so I just used his English one._**

**_since Yugi and Yami shared a body at one point, they are really close, and they even look alike, so I have the two of them claim brotherhood, which is why Roland says "brothers" when referring to them. Yami is obviously the elder (seeing as he's over 5000 years old), while Yugi is the younger._**

**_and one more thing, i'm not really sure if you can use Nightmare Steel Cage as a block for attacks, but i felt like using it, so whatever._**


	2. The Challange

**_AN: ok, may have a few people out of character in this story, but oh well. i'm still fairly new to writing, and with being in the middle of a huge writer's block with most of my other stories, i may just concentrate on this one._**

**_Disclaimer: i don't own any of the YGO characters (sighs) that right belongs to the author._**

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Jonouchi flung himself into the booth. "Man! That was one sweet duel! You two never cease to amaze me!" 

Anzu nodded. "I agree. That was amazing. I have to say, I've never seen a better duel, and I've seen a lot of your duels." She was frowning, however. She was still confused about what Yugi and Yami had been discussing during that duel.

Yugi shrugged. "Well, I still can't beat Yami yet, but some day I will." He nudged the silent boy beside him. Yami still hadn't forgiven him for making that bet. Yugi frowned. '_Well, I guess I kind of do deserve it. I know how much the Dark Magician means to him._'

Yami looked down at Yugi and sighed. It was very difficult to remain angry at the young boy. He just had that completely innocent air around him, cheering his companions so quickly and easily. He allowed himself a light smile. "You're getting better, Yugi, but I think it'll be a while yet before you can beat me again." He ruffled Yugi's hair affectionately, knowing it would aggravate him, and quickly ducked around him and slid onto the bench.

Yugi glared at him. "Come on, Yami, you know I hate it when you do that." '_Well, at least he seems to have forgiven me for now. That's a good sign._' He slid onto the bench beside Jonouchi.

They waited a short amount of time in comfortable silence until a waitress came and took their order for drinks.

After the drinks arrived, Anzu cleared her throat. "Hey, guys, what were you talking about when you were duelling?" She was cut off when Yami started coughing, and Yugi began laughing. She'd somehow managed to time asking her question just as Yami was taking a drink.

Honda reached over and pounded his back, trying in his own way to help Yami recover.

Yugi decided to take matters into his own hands. "What do you mean, Anzu? We were talking quite a bit during our duel." He knew for a fact that if he told Anzu exactly what they'd been talking about, Yami would kill him. And not quickly or painlessly, either.

"Well, you were saying something about a secret. And I did catch the two of you look at me several times."

Jonouchi and Honda sat up quickly and looked at Yami and Yugi.

"Oh? Is that so?" Jonouchi drawled. Honda just grinned.

Yami and Yugi exchanged a look. Yami was practically daring Yugi to say something, and Yugi figured that maybe he should make himself scarce for a while.

"I'll be right back." He said, and darted off, leaving Yami faced with their three friends. And unfortunately, since they'd taken a booth instead of a table, Yami couldn't escape without shoving someone out of the way, since he was next to the window.

Yami gulped. "I don't know what you're talking about." He said. It was rather difficult to remain calm when three of your best friends were staring at you like hungry vultures, or maybe hyenas would be a better term. Jonouchi and Honda were both grinning evilly, as if they knew how uncomfortable he was right now, and Anzu had an innocently determined look on her face.

He glared after Yugi. '_It figures he'd disappear when they started questioning me. Now I have to somehow distract them without seeming obvious.'_

Before he could however, Honda spoke up. "Yeah, sure you don't Yami. You just don't want to tell us do ya?" He grinned at Jonouchi, who simply smirked back.

Yami couldn't help feeling cornered, but he was not about to let that fact be known. '_I can't believe I'm about to think this, but I actually hope a bunch of fans appear to get me out of this!'_ Right then, someone walked in through the door. Unfortunately, it wasn't someone who would help Yami's situation at all. In fact, they would just make it worse.

"Hey guys. What's up?" Otogi Ryuuji said. '_Hmm, strange. Why does Yami look he's been cornered? This looks interesting.'_ He thought to himself.

The four of them looked up. "Oh, hey Otogi. We were just about to hear what Yami was talking to Yugi about during their latest duel." Jonouchi said. "Grab a seat." He winked. "It should be interesting, at least."

Honda nodded. "Yeah, and apparently it has something to do with Anzu."

Yami barely suppressed a groan. '_Great. Someone else to torment me. Just what I didn't need. Yugi, you'd better get back here. You'd know how to distract them.'_

Otogi raised an eyebrow. "Really? Well, I saw the duel on TV, and I think I know exactly what they were saying."

Yami's eyes widened, and his gaze shot up from the table to meet Otogi's. "You…do?" He managed to say. '_How in the Name of the Gods does he know?'_

Otogi shrugged. "Well, you weren't exactly hiding it. I bet a bunch of people know, not just me or Yugi."

Anzu had been sitting silently for a while now, but she suddenly spoke up. "Okay, what exactly are you two talking about?" She demanded. "If it has something to do with me, I think I deserve to know." She frowned. '_When will they just spit it out?_' she wondered.

Yami flushed guiltily, and looked back down at the table. '_There's no way I'm going to tell her in front of the others. No way in hell!'_ He glanced at the "others" in question. Anzu was frowning slightly, and Honda, Jonouchi, and Otogi were all watching him, Otogi with a smug smirk on his face, and the other two with evil grins. When he noticed their grins, he flinched. Those were typically the grins they had when they were about to defeat someone. Yami had worn that same grin during duels, but when he was on the other side, it allowed him to feel what his opponents must have felt. Pure fear of what was about to happen.

"So?" Jonouchi said. "You gonna spill, or what?" His grin broadened when Yami's flush increased.

Yami shook his head. He knew that the others wouldn't give up that easily though. '_Urgh. How am I supposed to distract them from this? I can't tell them what Yugi and I were talking about during our duel.'_ His eyes widened as a thought occurred to him. '_Wait, that's it! Duel!'_ He looked back at the others, and smirked a bit.

The others were a bit taken back by Yami sudden smirk. '_Wasn't he just afraid to tell us? What could he be smirking about?'_ Jonouchi thought, raising an eyebrow. A glance at the others told him that they were equally as confused.

"So you want to know, huh?" Yami asked. "Well, take a wild guess at what you need to do in order for me to tell you."

Everyone blinked. "Huh?" they exclaimed.

A short distance away, Yugi peered around the corner where he was hidden, and shook his head. '_Jeez, trust Yami to come up with something like this.'_ He thought, amused. He had to admit though, it was an excellent solution, especially since it was highly likely that the others would fail in their attempt.

Honda spoke up hesitantly. "What do you mean, Yami?"

Suddenly, Otogi snorted with barely suppressed laughter. "Oh, I get it. I see where you're going with this. Smart move, Yami."

As Yami's smirk increased, Jonouchi, Honda, and Anzu all looked at Otogi. "What do you mean, Otogi?" Anzu asked, speaking for all of them.

Otogi grinned. "Well, Yami is a Master Duellist, so it makes sense that if you want him to tell you, you'd have to beat him in a duel, of course."

The three of them gaped. "You're kidding me!" Honda exclaimed. "How are we supposed to beat him if even Yugi or Kaiba can't?" He frowned suddenly. "Speaking of which, where is he?"

Anzu and Jonouchi looked around, frowning slightly. "Yeah, he's been gone a while now." Anzu said.

Otogi frowned. "Who has?" He looked around as well. "Oh, are you talking about Yugi? Yeah, I was wondering where he was. I was thinking that was it was strange since you guys are practically inseparable."

Yugi gulped. '_Uh-oh. This could be trouble. To reveal myself in public and be safe from Yami's torture, or in private and be safe from the others questions. Hmm, which to choose.'_ If he went out now, he would be subject to the others questions and demands, but if he revealed himself later, when the others weren't around, Yami would most certainly torture him for leaving him in the lurch.

Yami scowled. "He bolted." Was all he said as a way of explaining why their friend was missing. '_I am so going to get him for this later._'

Jonouchi shook his head. "Putting that aside." He said, looking back at Yami, who immediately looked suspicious. "So if we want to know what you were talking about, we have to duel you, right?" He grinned slightly.

Yami nodded warily. '_What is he thinking? I know Jonouchi well enough not to trust him when he grins like that. Whenever he grins like that, it means that he's thought of something that may or may not be pleasant for those involved.'_

Jonouchi's grin widened. "Alright. Name the time and place, and we'll do it. All four of us."

Yami blanched. "What? All four of you? You mean, at the same time?" '_I was hoping that they wouldn't think of that.'_

Honda laughed. "Great idea, Jonouchi. With the four of us, we'll have a better chance of winning."

Yugi let out a snicker before forcing himself to stay quiet again. _'Oh boy, this'll be interesting. The four of them against Yami? Oh yeah, definitely don't want to miss that.'_ He grinned. '_Hmm, maybe I should tell a few others… Nah. Yami would really murder me if I did that.'_ His grin widened. '_But still, it's tempting. I wonder how Kaiba would react?'_ It was an interesting thought, quite amusing to reflect on.

Anzu nodded. "I'm in. I may not be much of a duellist, but I've seen enough of your duels, Yami. I know how you would react to different situations."

Yami blushed. '_She has a point there. She's seen almost every one of my duels.'_

"Yeah, so have I." Honda added.

"And we all have different styles for duelling, so there's a greater chance that we can come up with a strategy to defeat you, Yami." Otogi said. He was enjoying this. It wasn't often that he could see Yami look like a corner rabbit. '_Oh yeah, I'm definitely glad I dropped by this time. I got to wonder though, when is he going to tell her? It's got to be soon, because if Yugi knows, it won't be long before these guys will.'_ He glanced at his cohorts. '_Heh, yep, if Yugi knows, I know that Honda and Jonouchi won't be long in cornering him for the details.'_

Yami was trying not to show his discomfort. '_Come on Yami, think. There's got to be a way of getting out of this.'_ Unfortunately, he couldn't see a way right now. His mind was all jumbled by the fact that not only did Yugi know his deepest secret, but so did Otogi. And if both of them knew, it was very likely that his greatest rival did as well. Seto Kaiba. Just the thought of him knowing Yami's weakness was enough to send a chill down his spine.

Jonouchi frowned. Yami appeared to be lost in his thoughts, and not very inclined to answer their challenge any time soon. "How about this?" He said. He was satisfied when Yami blinked and his gaze snapped over to meet Jonouchi's. "We'll meet at your house around seven. That'll give us time to come up with a few strategies, and you time to decide whether you want to do this the easy way or the hard way."

Yami gulped. Honda, Anzu, and Otogi all looked at Jonouchi in amazement. "Wow, Jonouchi." Otogi said. "That's actually really smart. Guess you aren't such an underdog after all." He decided to use Kaiba's favourite nickname for him.

Jonouchi grinned. He'd ignore the insult for now. "Alright gang, let's go to prepare." He stood up, and so did the other three. He looked back at Yami. "We'll see you later." His grin broadened. "Don't run away." He laughed when Yami's head jerked back, and he scowled. The four of them left the restaurant, laughing, leaving Yami to stare after them.

Yami sighed. "I am so doomed." Was all he said.

* * *

**_AN: so who wants Kaiba to come to the duel?_**


	3. A New Twist

_**AN: ok, here it is, i finally got the next chapter done! yays! but i couldn't fit any duels into it, so it's kind of like an intro to the duelling, so you're going to have to bear with me on this. i have to research all the decks involved, and the only two i really know are Yami's and Jonouchi's. if you have any info on Anzu's deck, Honda's deck, and Otogi's deck, please let me know about them, in a review, and email, whatever. i need that info.**_

**_imuzuok: i did bring Kaiba in and i think you'll like the idea i have him come up with. it's really evil //grins//_**

**_port rocks: yes, i have to agree with you on those two accounts. love is painful, and it's about to get a lot worse for poor Yami. if you think what i did before was cruel, wait till you see what i do to him in this chapter._**

**_Artemis 85: yeah, i have to agree with you too, Kaiba is hysterical. let's see how evil i can make him, ne//grins and laughs maniacally//_**

**_anyways, on with the story!_**

* * *

Yami stood across from his opponents, holding his duel disk. Well, actually, clutching was more like it. He was about to duel four of his best friends, just so that they would leave him and his personal life alone. Of course, Yugi was still nowhere to be found, and even the bond that the two of them still shared didn't allow Yami to locate him. Yugi was somehow sending multiple messages that made absolutely no sense. However, Yami was certain that he was planning something for this event. 

Jonouchi, Honda, Anzu, and Otogi were standing in a group, going over last minute strategies for the match. Every so often, one or another of them would glance over at him and grin, as if they knew something that would bring him a great deal of grief. And every time they did so, Yami couldn't help the shudder that followed.

"Hey, man, you ready for this?" Jonouchi yelled across the allotted area.

Yami frowned. "Would I be here if I wasn't?" Yami replied shortly. He was so not about to let them see his discomfort. They'd already seen enough of that at the diner earlier.

"Well, let's get this duel started then." Otogi said, coming forward, with the others trailing behind him. Anzu and Honda were still fiddling with their duel disks that they'd apparently borrowed from Otogi. Yami couldn't help the smirk. If they kept fiddling with the disks, maybe they'd be too preoccupied to concentrate on beating him.

Otogi and Jonouchi noticed that he was watching the other two fiddle, and grinned at each other. "You know, Yami," Jonouchi said smugly. "We had a few duels with these two, and Anzu managed to pull off a win almost 98 percent of the time. She's good enough to beat all three of us at the same time, so you might wanna watch out for her."

Anzu blushed fiercely, and Yami couldn't help thinking how adorable she looked when she was embarrassed. "Oh, come on, guys. It wasn't that big of a deal."

Yami blinked. '_Hang on. Did he say Anzu won most of the time? Against all three of them?'_ He gulped. '_If she's as good as they're implying, something tells me I'm in big trouble.'_

They got into position, and activated their holographic projectors, drawing their first hands. Before they could start, however, sudden footsteps from behind Yami alerted them that they had company. Yami turned around, and watched in horror as Seto Kaiba strode out from the cover of darkness. Unfortunately, his horror didn't stop there.

Yugi, his partner and best friend, was walking beside him, as though there was nothing out of the ordinary about that fact.

Before Yami could open his mouth to demand an explanation, Yugi spoke up.

"Hey guys, Kaiba gave me a great idea for your match. You want to hear it?"

Jonouchi, Honda, and Otogi looked interested, Anzu just blinked, and Yami gaped. "We're all ears." Otogi said.

Yugi grinned impishly. "Well, how about for every 500 life points, you have to answer a question that the opponent who took those life points decides on. And it has to be a yes or no answer." He glanced up at Kaiba. "You've got to admit, it's an interesting idea." He said, shrugging.

The four comrades exchanged a look, and nodded before Yami could even think of refusing. "It's not a bad idea." Jonouchi said, before scowling. "I can't believe that Rich-boy came up with it. It seems way too amusing for his brain."

Kaiba raised an eyebrow. "Oh? Well I hardly have to explain my reasons to a chimp like you."

Predictably, Jonouchi lost his temper. "Whaddya mean, chimp?" He shouted. His companions all just sighed and turned back to the matter at hand. Or in Yami's case, to a way to get out of the matter.

Yami sighed. _'Oh, who am I trying to kid? There's no way I'm going to get out of this, not with these guys trying to find out everything they can about my secret. But why did Yugi have to get Kaiba?'_ He glared out of the corner of his eyes at Yugi and Kaiba. _'That's probably why he's here in the first place. He just wants to see me get distracted by my personal problems, and possibly lose, or something. I swear, I'll never figure what makes Kaiba tick.'_ He sighed quietly.

Otogi shook his head at Jonouchi's all too predictable reaction to Kaiba's taunting. Really, when would Jonouchi see that it was just Kaiba's weird way of showing that he cared. He turned to view Yami. The one and only time they'd ever duelled had been over a game of Dungeon Dice Monsters. He'd never actually faced him in a Duel Monsters game before, but Anzu, Honda, and Jonouchi had given him tips, plus he'd watched many of his duels both in person and on video. He felt pretty prepared.

Although the same could not be said of Yami. He looked like his mind was a thousand miles away, focused on other problems. Otogi grinned slightly. It probably was. After all, Yami had never wanted to participate in this match, but they'd managed to trap him into accepting the challenge by playing on one weakness that everyone knew, except perhaps Yami himself. Yami was incredibly full of pride, like Kaiba, and it was so easy to prod him into duelling. All one really had to do was make the "assumption" that he was weak, and he'd automatically challenge the person in question to prove them wrong. Of course, there was always the other option of finding out something personal about him, and threatening to go public with it. Although, this option wasn't always the wisest course of action, seeing as there had been a few reporters who had attempted this, and had had their memories erased, and were currently in the hospital for amnesia. And yet, even so, not a word of why that was had leaked to the press. The guy could be downright scary when he wanted to be.

Right now, though, Yami was probably trying to figure out a way to get out of duelling without losing face. Of course, with Kaiba here, that was no longer even remotely possible.

'_Hmm. Maybe that's why Yugi got Kaiba to come. Huh. If it is, then he sure knows just what will make Yami du__el, whether he wants to or not.'_ Otogi had to admit, Yugi could sure be pretty mischievous when he wanted to be. He made a mental note to himself to make sure that Yugi never got the chance to be like that to him. There were plenty of things about him that no one knew about. And he wanted to keep it that way, thank you very much.

But these idle thoughts were getting him no where. The whole point of this was to force Yami to tell Anzu his so-called little "secret." Not that it was, anyway. A lot of people already knew, and were prepared to use that information against him, so in a weird, twisted kind of way, they were actually helping Yami out by forcing him into this.

"Hey, why don't we get started?" he asked. He watched in satisfaction as Yami's eyes widened, and then narrowed irritably at him, but was restrained from saying anything since the others nodded or voiced their own agreements. Yami just sighed, and turned his Duel Disk on, obviously resigning himself to the inevitable.

"Alright, let's duel." He sounded less than enthusiastic about it, but there was really nothing that he could do. After all, both Yugi and Otogi knew what Yami's secret was, and unless he followed through with this duel, both of them would spill it to Anzu. Which, of course, would make Yami incredibly embarrassed, and he'd probably never show his face in front of her again, which in turn, completely defeated the whole purpose of this duel. He hoped that Yami would figure that out, before it was too late.

The order of duellists would be Yami starting off, since he was the one with the most at stake here, followed by Honda, Otogi, Anzu, and finally Jonouchi. Anzu and Jonouchi knew more about Yami's duelling strategies than anyone else here, so they could use what the other had set up, and focus on derailing whatever ploy Yami might use. And Anzu had a few little surprises of her own in her deck, so Yami was in for a nasty wake-up call if he thought that Anzu would be an easy target.

Otogi exchanged a glance with his comrades, and nodded. "Let's go!" he said, as everyone drew their first hands, and prepared an all-out onslaught against Yami. They knew this would be a difficult duel, but they were determined to win. Just as Yami was determined not to lose to them so that he would be able to keep his privacy safe.

One thing would be certain, though. This was going to be a long, and more than likely, a very embarrassing duel for everyone involved.

* * *

**_AN: ok, i know it's shorter than the last two, but i can't do much else without some more info._**

**_please r&r!_**


	4. The Horror

**_AN: ok, here we go, chapter 4. fair warning, it's my shortest chapter yet, and one of my most evil /laughs/ also as a side note, Kaiba might appear to be a little OOC here, but I'll put him back in character later, k?_**

**_Review corner_**

**_Chibi Shimmy: I'm sure that you would like to know the questions. Actually, so would I. /sweatdrop/ I really have no idea what to torment the characters with._**

**_Kalana Fox: thanks for the great info. I do know that Honda duels in season 3, but unfortunately, that's one season I've seen little of. And Yugi is an imp isn't he /giggles/_**

* * *

Yami drew his first card and glanced at it. Switching it to his hand, he made his first play. "I summon Berfomet in attack mode, which allows me to bring Gazelle the King of Mythical Beasts to my hand. Next, I play Polymerization, and fuse Gazelle with Berfomet, to create Chimera the Flying Mythical Beast."

Otogi whistled. "Wow, that's quite a first play, Yami." The others nodded, and Honda prepared to draw his first card.

Yami smirked slightly. "Who said I was done?" He asked. He was rewarded by the look of astonishment on his tormenters faces. "I now play the magic card Quick Attack, allowing Chimera to attack now." '_This might be a bit underhanded, but I want to finish this fast. I'll go for the strongest player first._' "Now, my beast! Attack… Jonouchi!"

"Say wha?!" Jonouchi barely had a second to stare at Yami's monster before a slash of the beast's claws stripped him of over half his life points in one blow. Coughing because of the dust that was kicked up, he glared at Yami. "That was low, man!"

Yami smirked again. "I play two cards face-down and end my turn." The holograms appeared, and Yami crossed his arms, suddenly amused. "Oh? You think that was low? Then what would you call this?" He waved his arm, indicating the duel.

Jonouchi exchanged uneasy glances with his comrades. "Um… A friendly duel?" He grinned winningly, but it didn't affect Yami.

"Nice try. Now, what was that rather interesting new twist?" He relished Jonouchi's horrified face. "Losing 2100 life points would mean I get four questions for you, right?"

Jonouchi unconsciously a step backward, his face pale. "Wha-? Aw, come on man! You wouldn't really, wouldja? In front of Rich-Boy?" He put on a puppy-face. "Even you wouldn't be that cruel."

Yami chuckled darkly, making the other three gulp. "You know, I was actually thinking the same thing about the lot of you just a few hours ago, before you came up with this ridiculous idea."

Otogi snorted. " 'Before we came up with this?' Uh, hate to burst your bubble, pal, but last time I checked, you were the one saying that if we wanted an answer, we would have to duel you." He couldn't help the grin at Yami's suddenly blank expression. "So, technically, you're calling yourself foolish."

Kaiba chuckled from the sidelines. "Well, it looks like I just witnessed the so-called "King of Games" mess up." He smirked. "Just what I was hoping to see."

Yami's response was to send a dark glare at his rival, before turning back to his opponents. "As I was saying, I get four questions. First one: is there any chance you'll give this up?" As Jonouchi opened his mouth to respond, he added. "Fair warning, I've put a truth spell on you guys."

All four looked shocked, before Honda burst out. "On us? What about you? How do we know that you're telling the truth?"

Yugi decided to put in his piece. "He doesn't need one." When everyone, with the exception of Yami, looked at him, he grinned. "He's got me. I can tell if he'd lying or not."

Anzu nodded. "That's true. The two of you do still have a powerful bond, so it's not surprising that you'd be able to tell." Since she'd been with them the longest, she understood their connection better than anyone.

Yami felt his start heating up, and decided that they needed to get back on track. "You still haven't answered my question, Jonouchi."

Jonouchi grinned. "You mean the one about giving up?" He laughed. "No way, man! This is way too fun. I wanna know what the deal is with you and Anzu!"

Yami sighed. "I figured as much." He shook his head, and straightened up. "I guess I'll have to do this the hard-" He was cut off by Kaiba's sudden laugh.

"You cannot be serious!" He sneered. "That's what this duel is about? The stuff you were talking about in the finals of my tournament?"

Otogi sighed, while Jonouchi, Anzu, and Honda all gaped at the CEO. Yami tensed, his horror now confirmed. Kaiba knew about his weak point, and would now proceed to make his life a living hell.

"You mean," Anzu said. "that you know what's going on? You could tell me what Yami and Yugi were talking about?" Her eyes were lit, and Yami had to force down the surge of blatant jealousy towards Kaiba. He spotted Yugi's smirk out the corner of his eye, and glared at him. He'd have to give his partner a severe punishment for this later.

Kaiba looked between her and Yami, finally turning to face Yami. "You mean you haven't told her yet?"

Yami's only response was to turn bright red and stammer. He couldn't even form a proper retort.

Honda spoke up. "That's why we're duelling. When we beat him, he's gonna tell us what's going on."

Kaiba let out another short laugh. "Why bother? I could tell you right now."

He suddenly had everyone's undivided regard, Otogi and Yugi in mild amusement, Anzu, Jonouchi, and Honda in rapt attention, although Jonouchi was slightly perturbed by the fact that Kaiba seemed to know what was going on and he didn't.

And Yami was absolutely horrified.

* * *

**_AN: if anyone has ideas for questions, please send them to me. I could really use the help /gleams suddenly/ It'll help me update faster! /begs/ I need help! Clickie that nice little button down there and send me some ideas. And while you're at it, reviews are always appreciated. bye!_**


	5. Nice Try, Kaiba

**_AN: sorry it's been so long, but i was forced to leave off my stories for a while because i was quite ill. so here's the next chapter for you._**

**_To XxDawnriderxX and LordRevanGrandMasteroftheJedi, thank you for the question ideas. i actually used one of them in this chapter._**

**_For port rocks, Artemis 85, LordReven..., i'm afraid that i could not figure out a way to comply with your requests and finish the story to satisfaction. i wouldn't know where to go._**

**_In answer to your question Ari, Otogi is the Japanese name for Duke Devlin._**

**_Enjoy!_**

'_Crap. What do I do now?'_ Yami's mind was screaming. _'Kaiba knows, and he's about to blurt it all out!'_ His mind was running in circles, panicking. _'Somehow, I have to silence him… Hold on.'_ His eyes widened. _'Silence? That's it!'_ He closed his eyes and concentrated on drudging up the faded memory of a lesson with his most loyal priest, Mahado.

Kaiba smirked. "I can't believe you losers haven't figured it out yet. It's completely obvious to anyone with half a brain."

Otogi spoke up in his defence. "Uh, excuse me, but I actually knew what was going on before any of this started, so I hope you're not including me in that category."

Kaiba just looked at him. "You hang out with them, don't you? Then that makes you a loser."

Otogi bristled, and would have argued further, but Jonouchi intervened. "Hey, jerk-face. Then what are you doing here? After all, last time I checked, you wanted nothing to do with us. So why search us out if you're going to just be a bastard." For once his logic was actually right.

Kaiba was silent for a few moments, before answering him. "Why else? To watch this loser," He nodded towards Yami, "try to explain how he-" His voice suddenly cut off. Kaiba's eyes widened, his hand going to his throat, before he turned and glared at the sound of Yami's dark chuckles.

"Sorry, but I'm not letting you blurt it out, Kaiba." He turned and looked at Otogi. "And if you try and say anything, I'll do the same thing to you too."

Everyone exchanged uneasy looks. "Uh, just what did you do to him?" Honda asked.

Yami didn't have to answer, because Yugi chose that moment to groan. "Oh, man, Yami, don't tell me you laid a spell on him."

Yami's smirk widened. "Yes. I laid a silence spell on him. He won't be able to speak for a while, and I have no intention on releasing the spell until I beat you all, and I make sure that _he_," he nodded towards Kaiba's furious form. "won't be able to discuss it."

Anzu gazed across at him with a hurt expression. "Do you really not want to tell me that much?" She asked quietly.

Yami blinked, suddenly feeling extremely guilty. "Uh…" '_Why is that I was able to rule over an entire nation, yet I never know what to say to her?'_ He berated himself. He focused his attention on making sure that his face didn't start turning red.

Honda paused, looking back and forth between the two of them. He knew that there was something else going on here, besides just what Yami and Yugi had been discussing in that one duel. Yami had started acting strange shortly after he got his own body, and it had always been when Anzu was around. But what could it mean?

Honda shrugged. They'd have an answer once they won this. All they had to do was make that one strategy work, and Yami wouldn't stand a chance. Once Anzu gave the signal, they would corner him. All the rest of them had to do was stay in the game long enough for them to do their part.

He decided to break the stalemate that was occurring. "Hey, why don't we discuss this after we beat you? We've got a duel to play." Everyone turned to look at him, and Honda nodded towards Yami. "Don't you still have questions to ask Jonouchi?"

Jonouchi glared at him while Yami smirked, apparently relieved to have someone distract Anzu from questioning him.

"How very true." He said, silently thanking the gods for Honda's spontaneous suggestion. And the obvious cluelessness that he appeared to be in. Although he was slightly thrown off by the sheer confidence that they all seemed to have. It was almost as if they knew something he didn't.

'_Still,'_ he thought absently. _'It shouldn't make that much of a difference. After all, I am a master duellist, so I don't think it'll be terribly difficult to defeat most of them. Jonouchi will probably be the only real threat._' Now to think of a few more questions for his friend. Frowning, he thought about what made Jonouchi get flustered.

An idea popped into his head, and he smirked. "Alright, Jonouchi, here's another question for you."

Jonouchi cringed. He did not like the smirk on Yami's face, nor the look in his eye. "And what would that be?" He asked, trying to put up a brave front.

Yami's smirk broadened slightly. "Have you told a certain tall, blonde duellist that we all know how you feel about her?"

Jonouchi blinked, not quite sure what he meant for a moment, before his eyes widened and he turned a brilliant shade of red. "That- that's not… I mean…" he couldn't seem to forma coherent sentence. He turned and glared at the sound of his friends muffled laughter. "Shaddup already!" He snapped.

Otogi snorted. "Oh, come on, Jonouchi. It's not like we didn't know." He watched as Jonouchi's face turned began burning even more brightly than it already was.

Honda laughed. "Be careful, man. Don't want you passing out from overheating yourself."

Jonouchi growled. "Just wait till this is done, pal. I'm really gonna give it to ya."

Yami forced himself not to smirk. This was exactly what he'd been going for. If his opponents were fighting amongst themselves, they wouldn't be concentrating on beating him. He decided to speak up and put his own opinion forth.

"I'm going to take your response as a no, you haven't admitted yet." With a casual shrug, he turned his head away, he looked at his hot-headed friend out of the corner of his eye. "Well, whatever. It's your choice."

Otogi and Kaiba both just turned and looked at Yami, both, amazingly enough, with the same thought. _'Like you can talk.'_ Still, as Kaiba couldn't talk, and Otogi didn't want to give Yami the chance to try and "relearn" any of his old magic spells on him, they both just shook their heads and sighed.

* * *

**_AN: I hope you like it and weren't too disappointed when i didn't have Kaiba blurt it out. i hope you continue to love me anyways. /tearful puppy-face\_**

**_As always please R&R and if you happen to think of any question, please let me know of them._**


	6. The Reason

**_AN: ok, next installment. as per usual, i'm very sorry about the length and how long it took to get it up._**

**_i took the liberty of explaining why Yami doens't want to tell Anzu how he feels, so yeah._**

**_Review responses:_**

**_fantasia-49: all i'll say is that you're good. i'm sure you'll know what i mean by that._**

**_x-hannah-banana-x: yes, i'm enjoying it too, as i'm sure you can tell. /evil grin/_**

**_Artemis 85: isn't he? still, you have to admit that his hypocrisy it amusing._**

_**Lady Teela'Na: i really must agree. there'd be no fun for us girls if guys were so open like that. after all, that's really how we get our kicks.**_

**_dancers of the night: you bet i'll use your question. thanks a bunch!_**

**_LordRevanGrandMasteroftheJedi: /cringes/ i am so sorry for making you wait that long, and like i said in my AN, again, is very sorry /bows pleadingly/ please don't hate me!_**

* * *

Jonouchi scowled. After this duel was over, he was seriously going to have to beat on Honda for his comment about overheating. And then he'd go and get Yami for putting him in this position. And let's not forget Yugi, for bringing Kaiba along to see the resulting humiliation of his "idea."

A sharp pain by his ear brought his attention back to the real world. Knowing exactly who'd done it, he whirled and glared at Honda. "What was that for, man?" He looked down to see a small pebble lying innocently by his foot. Determined to wipe that smug grin off of Honda's face, he quickly bent and scooped up the rock, preparing to fling it at his friend's face.

Anzu, sensing a possible fistfight in the making, quickly darted over and forced Jonouchi's hand back down. "Alright, that's enough. You two can fight later. Right now, we're a team." She lowered her voice. "Keep going like this and you'll be playing right into Yami's hands."

She'd glanced over at Yami beforehand, and noticed that there was a look of satisfaction and a strange sense of relief at the idea of a possible quarrel. And right now, there was a mild look of aggravation, although Anzu didn't think that it was directed at any of them. It seemed to be more directed at himself. Why, though, was something that she couldn't figure out.

Yami frowned when Anzu stopped Jonouchi from retaliating at Honda, but he knew that she couldn't help it. She was just that kind of girl, the kind that helped her friends get over disputes and the like. She was just too kind.

And that was precisely why she deserved someone who was worthy of her kindness. He may have been a powerful ruler of an ancient civilization, but he'd been forced to do many dark deeds in order to protect that nation. He didn't deserve someone like Anzu, who was full of light and hope.

Yugi frowned. He caught some of the thoughts from Yami, and they'd taken a decidedly dark turn. But it wasn't until Yami had thought that he was unworthy that he decided to take action.

Focusing on the link between them, he spoke telepathically, knowing that Yami wouldn't want to worry the others.

**/Yami, why do you insist on thinking like that?/** He saw Yami start and look over at him in surprise. **/You know that we don't think that of you, and we don't like it when you think like that./**

Yami dropped his eyes, unable to continue looking at his partner. **/I can't help it, Yugi. It's the truth, and no amount of pretending will change that-/**

**/Enough, Yami!/** He was satisfied when Yami's shocked eyes snapped back to his. **/That's all in the past, and this is a new life for you./** His eyes softened. **/Why won't you take advantage of that? You've saved the world so many times. No one will begrudge you for wanting someone to love you./**

A faint blush crept up Yami's neck, before he shook his head. **/Maybe no one else will, Yugi. But I would, and I do. I am not worthy of her, Yugi. It's that simple./** He closed off the connection before Yugi could retort. It seemed that this duel was distracting him more than he thought if his mental defences had allowed Yugi in without his knowing. Turning his attention to fortifying those barriers, he failed to notice the attention he was getting.

Surprisingly, it wasn't Jonouchi or Anzu who noticed the small exchange between the two, but Honda. He never exactly been keen on magic, given the multitude of shadow games and the like that they'd all been dragged into, but he couldn't deny the fact that it existed, unlike Kaiba.

He'd noticed the darkening look in Yami's eyes turn into surprise when he looked at Yugi, so he figured that Yugi was somehow talking to Yami in a way that no one else could hear. He also noticed that when Yami turned away, he had a somehow sad look in his eyes, and Yugi still looked frustrated. Honda frowned. Obviously their little discussion hadn't worked out too good, since Yugi had failed to completely get rid of whatever worry Yami had gotten into his head this time.

Normally, Yugi had the rather incredible ability to sense whenever Yami was feeling off, and would be able to put him into a much better mood in a few moments. Apparently not this time, though. Whatever Yami was thinking, it would take a lot more than mere words from his closest friend to snap him out of it.

Realizing that this duel was taking a long time to really get started, he spoke up again. "Hey, I thought we were here to duel, not stand around looking at each other." He held back a triumphant smile when Yami's head came up and he shook his head absently.

"You're right, Honda." Yami turned to Jonouchi. "I still have two questions left, but I think I'll hold them for later." He shrugged." I'll think of some good ones then."

Jonouchi cringed, before shaking his head in good humour. "And I'm sure that I'm not going to be happy when you do." He looked over at Honda. "Well then, Honda, your move."

Honda nodded and drew his card. "I'll play a monster in defence and two cards face down. That'll do it for me."

After Honda's turn, the other three made similar plays, playing their monsters in defence mode, and setting up a series of face-down cards. The strategy they'd come up with was that they'd make it look like Jonouchi and Otogi would be the attackers, while Anzu and Honda would handle defence. From the looks of it, Yami had taken the bait since he'd gone after Jonouchi first. Of course, that might also have been because Jonouchi was the most experienced member of their team, but that just worked in their favour.

All they had to do now was wait for Anzu to give them the signal, and they'd have this duel in the bag.

* * *

**_AN: ok, since i have nobody around me for the next few days, i should be able to get another chapter up by tomorrow. i'm not going to promise, but i think i can get it up sometime in the evening. otherwise, i'll definetely have it up by the weekend._**

**_Please R&R!_**


	7. The Duel Comes To An End

**_AN: ok, like i promised, here's the next chapter, and it's actually the second last chapter, just so you know. the duel has reached it's ending, and the winner is decided._**

**_Review Responses:_**

**_fantasia-49: i will actually agree with you about Yami thinking that way, but it seemed to go along with the plot so i stuck it in._**

**_Mckenzie Mead: i'm.. glad you enjoyed it so much._**

**_Divinitas: i hate self-doubt too, but like i said to fantasia-49, it just seemed to work. but i'm glad you seem to be enjoying it._**

_**We're In Like Sin: i am so glad to hear that i didn't disappoint with that last chapter. i seem to be writing less and less in a chapter, so here's a longer one, just because you seem to be so eager for more.**_

* * *

Yugi wiped his forehead and glanced at his watch. The duel had been going on for almost an hour now, and there was still no clear sign of a victor. Yami was currently at about 2150 life points, while Otogi and Anzu both had 1200 left, Jonouchi had 300, and Honda had been knocked out of the game. Throughout the whole duel, questions had been flung around, embarrassing everyone involved, except maybe Anzu. Mostly because Yami wasn't willing to ask anything that would make her upset, and any other question he could think of might give her a hint. So he stuck with safe questions, like asking things like who in their little gang did she think was the strongest, (she'd answered Yami), who was she most comfortable around (Yugi), who was the most annoying (Jonouchi, obviously), and so on.

Jonouchi and Honda, predictably, had chosen completely inappropriate questions, and were no longer permitted to even ask anything without first promising that no, the next question wouldn't be along the same lines as before.

Anzu had, amazingly enough, actually gotten Yami to admit that he had been talking about something to do with her during his duel with Yugi before. And Yami had managed to pit Jonouchi against both Honda and Otogi by asking the two of them how they felt about Jonouchi's younger sister, Shizuka. Yugi had had to join Anzu in physically stopping Jonouchi from going over to beat the other boys into the ground after hearing their answers, while Yami had just watched smugly, glad to have a chance to gather himself.

All in all, things were not going so well for the challengers. It was Anzu's turn, and her team could only hope that she'd finally draw the set of cards that they needed.

Anzu frowned, thinking about their strategy. There was so much riding on her making this work, and she was afraid that she couldn't deliver. Only the thought that Yami was keeping something secret from her, about her, had kept her going until this point.

She remembered what Jonouchi and Otogi had told her beforehand.

"_Now listen up, Anzu." Otogi said. "We'll keep you in the game until you can play that dragon of yours. Don't worry about us, we'll make sure that Yami won't take you down."_

_Jonouchi and Honda nodded. "Yeah," Jonouchi said. "Just leave it to us and get that thing on the field and then to the Graveyard. Got that?"_

_Anzu nodded. "Don't worry. I'll do it."_

She frowned. Had she finally promised more than she could give. She had already allowed Yami to send a high-level monster to her graveyard, thus fulfilling half of the requirements for her plan. And she had the other necessary card in her hand. Now if she could just draw the final card.

'_Come on,'_ She thought. _'If there was ever a time for the "Heart of the Cards" to work, this is it.'_ She closed her eyes, and drew her card.

Cautiously opening her eyes, she glanced at her card, before staring in shock. Forcing herself not to grin, she eagerly put the plan into motion. With any luck, this turn would be the last.

"I'm activating a spell card from my hand, Premature Burial. By paying 800 life points, I can bring a monster back from the grave." Her life points dropped to 400. "I choose to bring back my Light Effigy."

Otogi and Jonouchi were both immediately on attention, knowing that she'd finally gotten every card she needed to make her move.

Yami frowned. She'd played that monster before, when she'd summoned up a powerful light attribute monster. Obviously she had another in her hand ready to summon. He glanced down at his face-down card. Well, it didn't matter to him. All he had to do was activate his Trap Hole and her monster would be sent straight to the graveyard.

It didn't even occur to him that that was exactly what Anzu wanted him to do.

"I sacrifice my Light Effigy to summon an 8-star monster." She moved Light Effigy's card to the Graveyard again, and placed a new card in its place. "Felgrand Dragon, come forth!"

A large golden dragon appeared on the field with 2800 attack and defence points. It easily dwarfed Yami's Skilled Dark Magician. But that was where his trap card came into play.

"Sorry, Anzu, but I'm going to have to destroy that card you went through so much to get." He activated his trap. "I play Trap Hole, instantly sending your monster to the Graveyard." He watched with a great sense of relief as the monster was dragged into the Monster Graveyard. With that attack power, he would have been in some serious trouble.

He looked across the field and only just noticed the grin on Otogi and Jonouchi's faces, and the small smirk on Anzu's. He blinked, before paling, instantly knowing that he'd played right into his hands. And he was now helpless to stop whatever plan they had. With no more face-down cards, he had no way to defend himself.

Anzu's smirk turned into a smug grin when she saw Yami's face go pale. "I'm sorry to disappoint you Yami, but I was actually hoping that you would do something like that." She pulled another card from her hand. "Because now I activate my Monster Reborn card to bring back my Dragon." The monster reappeared on the field. "You see, Felgrand Dragon's effect can't be activated unless it's Special Summoned from the Graveyard, and only if it was sent there from the field." She shrugged. "I had a card that would have done that, but it appears that you took care of that for me." She beamed at him, unknowingly causing him to flush.

Yami looked out of the corner of his eye to see Kaiba smirking. It appeared that Kaiba knew something about this dragon, and it probably wouldn't be anything good for Yami.

Scowling, he turned back to the matter at hand. "Alright, just spit it out. What's this special ability?"

Anzu's smug grin was back. "Oh, just that I can take a monster's level from the grave, multiply it by 200, and add it to my Dragon's attack points."

Yami's face was blank for all of 10 seconds, before he remembered the monster that he'd sent from her field to the grave not even 5 turns ago.

Wingweaver, a 7-star monster. If that was the monster she chose, she could add 1400 more attack points onto her dragon, making its total destructive force 4200. More than enough to completely destroy his last line of defence and take out the remainder of his life points.

"As I'm sure you've figured out, Yami, the monster I choose is my Wingweaver." Anzu seemed totally relaxed now. "I believe that should give me more than enough power to win this." Once her dragon had accumulated the points, she ordered the final blow. "Now, my Dragon, finish this with your Light Flame Inferno!"

The resulting explosion from the destruction of his mage blew Yami off his feet, making him to roll back several yards before coming to a stop. Getting to his knees, he shook his head to try and clear it of the dizziness the rolling had caused. Looking up, he saw Otogi offering him a hand. Jonouchi, Honda, and Yugi were busy congratulating Anzu on her victory. Kaiba was looking smug and probably would have been making quite a few snide comments about Yami losing his title to a girl, but the silence spell was still in effect.

And Yami had no intention on letting it go any time soon.

When Otogi realized that Yami was still slightly out of it, he reached down and grabbed the now formerly King of Games' hand, pulling him to his feet. Keeping his voice low, he spoke. "Look, I wish it hadn't had to come to this, but you did promise to tell her if we won." He raised an eyebrow when Yami's eyes dropped. He sighed. "Tell you what? I'll keep the others here, while you go and talk to her privately. Confessing isn't always an easy thing, especially with so many people around."

Yami's eyes snapped to his, a fierce blush on his face. But he still didn't say a word.

Otogi rolled his eyes, before dragging the ex-pharaoh over to the others. "I don't know why you're so reluctant to tell her, but I'll tell you this much." He looked over his shoulder with a frown. "You have no idea how much this is hurting her, you and Yugi keeping secrets like this about her. She thinks that she did something to upset you, and that you're too angry to tell her."

Yami's eyes widened. "Why would she think that? I could never-" He couldn't finish.

Otogi nodded. "You and I both know that, but she won't and never will unless you tell her." By now they'd reached the others, and Otogi practically threw Yami at Anzu. He pointed at the Game Shop owned by Yugi's Grandfather. "Go inside and talk."

Yami blinked, looked at Anzu, and sighed. "Fine." He looked sharply at Otogi. "I expect you to keep everyone else out." He took Anzu's hand, forcing himself to ignore the sudden trill at holding her hand like this, and walked with her over to the house, disappearing inside.

Jonouchi and Honda went to round on Otogi, but were cut off by Yugi.

"Nice move, sending them inside. He never would have told her if they'd stayed."

Otogi grinned. "Wasn't it?" He was quite proud of himself. _'And besides that, they'll have a little privacy too. For a little while at least.'_

Yugi suddenly turned to Kaiba, with an innocently devious grin on his face. "So Kaiba, would you like me to take that spell off of you now?"

Kaiba's face was a picture. It was fairly obvious that he was enraged, but since he couldn't speak, they couldn't tell what he was thinking.

Yugi walked over, seemingly ignorant of the fact that he'd just made Kaiba angry. "It seems that I can cancel out any spell that Yami casts. Maybe it's a side effect from sharing a body with him for so long. I actually could have done it at any time, but this was more fun." He held up his hands, and a soft golden glow surrounded Kaiba. A moment later, Kaiba was stalking out of the parking lot, saying that this would be the last time they'd meet in something other than the battlefield.

The others shared a look, before nodding. Jonouchi summed it up perfectly.

"He'll be back." Everyone nodded.

* * *

**_AN: next up, the "secret" is revealed. although i think by this point we all know what it is, so yeah. will Yami tell Anzu, or will he chicken out? stay tuned!_**


	8. The Confession

**_AN: *bows down and aplogoizes profusely* I am so sorry for making you wait all this time. I had to put this story aside for a time because I just got completely stuck at the confession scene. I have absolutely zero experience in that kind of thing. There's never been any men to catch my attention like my anime bishies do. XP I actually had most of the chapter written by last october, but the very middle part escaped me and I only just got it done today. I hope you don't all hate me for making you wait so long._**

**_Review Responses:_**

**_We're In Like Sin: I'm glad you thought the last chapter was was good. I hope you're just as happy with this final chapter._**

**_LordRevanGrandmasteroftheJedi: Thank you so much for your support throughout this fic. Not to worry, I don't plan to continue this story any further than this chapter_**

**_fantasia-49: Thank you for staying with me for this long, I hope I don't disappoint you with the ending_**

**_Kalana Fox: XD I'm sure you already know how Anzu will react to Yami's confession_**

**_NightCrawlerLover: Oh he does, he does... Barely, no thanks to me and my inability to write confession scenes to save my life -_-'_**

**_Artemis 85: I'm glad you've enjoyed it so much_**

**_dancers of the night: Yeah, I thought it was funny too. But my Yugi's quite the little imp, so why make things easy for Kaiba_**

**_Ruize: No worries, I'm just glad you thought my story was good enough to read all the way through. And shutting Kaiba up? Always a delight. X3 There's a very amusing quote on my profile about Kaiba if you want_**

**_Lionfire5224: Eek! Please don't hate me, or kill me, or... or... anything! I finally did update_**

**_Mistress Ahiru: Thank you kindly_**

**_mack: Sorry, but there's no way I can use your idea satisfyingly. If I ever do decide to write another YGO fic, I will keep the idea in mind, I promise_**

**_LivingLegends: Well, it's now finished, much to my relief, so there's no more need to worry_**

**_Atem-Tea love 4ever: Sorry about the long wait. As I said, I had a great deal of difficulty with the confession, as well as having about 10 other fic ideas floating around my brain. As to reviewing your story, I'll be more than happy to when I get the chance._**

**_DarkRoseAngle: Well, I must admit that while it's always amusing to leave people in suspense for a while, I didn't mean to take so cursed long. I hope this chapter is everything you hoped for._**

**_Anyways, I'll shut up now and let you read the final chapter of Matchmaker Yugi: Anzu and the Pharaoh_**

* * *

To say that Anzu was startled when Yami grabbed her hand would be an understatement. An electric current seemed to buzz along the length of her arm, sharpening her focus towards Yami. Normally the picture of calm, his sun-darkened skin was slightly damp from sweat, and Anzu could feel his pulse racing.

'_He's nervous.'_ A light frown touched her lips. _'But he's never nervous, not even during the most intense duels. What could be so nerve-wracking now?'_ Despite her concern, she was determined to find out exactly what was going on. She'd been kept out of the loop for too long now, and it was time she got some answers.

She waited until they had entered the house before speaking, somehow knowing subconsciously that Yami wouldn't reveal anything if there was a chance that someone might overhear him. "Yami?" Was it her imagination, or did Yami's shoulders just tense slightly? "Where are we going? I thought you were going to-"

"We're going to find some privacy." Yami cut her off. His voice was different than what it normally was. It was low and hesitant, completely changed from its typical cool and confident tone. "I'm sure the others will be questioning Otogi and Yugi by now." His voice had changed again, going slightly aggravated and vaguely worried.

Anzu's frown deepened. "Questioning them about what?" She all but ripped her hand out of Yami's in her agitation. "Please Yami, just tell me. I'm sick of not knowing what's going on."

Yami didn't turn to face her. He couldn't. He knew that if he did the look in her eyes would completely break what little defense he had left.

But when she gently placed her hand on his shoulder and he heard what she asked next, he couldn't prevent himself from whirling around to face her.

"Are you… Are you angry at me for something? Did I do something to make you not trust me anymore?"

"What? No!" He whipped around, arms automatically reaching out and pulling her to him. He held her close, trying to communicate as clearly as he could. "I've always trusted you, more than anyone." He whispered softly.

"Then why?" Anzu was stiff in his arms. "Why won't you tell me?" She attempted to pull back, but Yami tightened his grip around her, not yet willing to release her. "I know that Yugi's like a brother to you, but why do Kaiba and Otogi get to know and not me?" Tears sprang to her eyes unbidden at the thought of Yami not trusting her enough to reveal whatever secret he might have and instead telling his rival, someone he could barely stand to be in the same room with for more than five minutes.

Yami sighed. "I didn't even know that they knew. It came as a complete surprise to me." He frowned. "I didn't even know that Yugi knew until he started talking about it during our duel. I thought I'd hidden it well, but I guess not as well as I'd hoped."

Tears sprang to Anzu's eyes. "Hide what, Yami?" Her exasperation was clear in her voice, as was the pain.

Yami's arms tightened briefly before he released her, taking a step away. Anzu peered at him only to see that his eyes were shadowed by his bangs. "Yami?"

His shoulders tensing, Yami spoke softly. "Yugi was going to reveal something I'd only recently discovered myself, a desire for …something I feel I don't deserve after what I did in the days when I was Pharaoh."

Anzu tilted her head curiously. "What do you mean? You didn't do anything wrong when you were still Pharaoh. If anything you saved not only Egypt, but the entire world from the Shadows."

There was a small, cynical smirk on Yami's face. "Be that as it may, Egypt was still devastated from its brush with the Shadow Realm. I was forced to commit so many atrocities in order to seal the darkness away. I… should have gone with it, been sealed away alongside it. The world would be safer if I hadn't remained behind to-"

"Don't say those things!" This time it was Anzu who grabbed hold of Yami, wrapping her arms around him tightly and burying her face in his chest as though she was afraid he'd disappear right in front of her. "Don't ever say that! No one deserves to be sealed away, especially not you."

Yami looked down at the top of her head in confusion. "But if it weren't for me-"

Anzu cut him off. "If you hadn't been here, Marik would have spread the Shadow Realm over the entire world. You were the one to stop him. If you'd disappeared, Dartz would have taken everyone's souls and destroyed the world. You were the only one capable of defeating him." She lifted her head to look at him, tears streaking down her cheeks. "If you had sealed yourself away, that convict might have killed me at that restaurant. You were the one to save me that day."

Yami jerked back slightly. He'd almost forgotten that day, the day he'd first acted to protect his friends. So much had happened since then, but her words brought back the events of that day in vivid detail.

"Don't you see? We need you here, with us." Her eyes dropped and her voice lowered to a whisper. "_I_ need you."

Yami stared at her for a moment before his gaze softened, a small smile gracing his lips. Sighing lightly, he lowered his head to rest atop hers. "Then I guess it's a good thing I stayed. Otherwise, I wouldn't have met you." Pulling back slightly, he put his hand under her chin and lifted her face. "Anzu, what Yugi was going to reveal was something I felt I wasn't worthy of." Taking a deep breath, he decided to put his heart out in plain view. "When Yugi's soul was taken by the Seal of Orichalcos, you gave me a reason to keep going. If it hadn't been for your support, I would have given up. You were the light in the darkness that gave me hope." Leaning his forehead against hers, he whispered his most guarded secret. "I love you, Anzu."

Anzu gasped softly, her eyes widening as she gazed at him. Yami closed his eyes to await her verdict, not daring to get his hopes up lest his heart be crushed.

So when he felt her hand gently touch his cheek, he opened surprised eyes to meet hers. Clouded amethyst met bright sapphire as she smiled softly at him.

"You have no idea how long I've wanted to hear that." At his sharp intake of air, she let out a small sound, a combination of both a laugh and a sob. "I love you too. I always have. I just thought you wouldn't even be able to look at a commoner like me that way, being a powerful pharaoh and all." Giving him a shaky grin, she laughed lightly. "Guess we're the same in that way, huh?"

Joy shone in his eyes. For him, it was a dream come true. He'd been certain that Anzu would never feel the same way for him. A part of him had been too afraid to find out, sure that Anzu was in love with Yugi. They'd been friends for years before he entered the picture. He'd covered up the heartache by telling himself that he wasn't worthy of her, that he'd never be able to truly make her happy. He'd been running from his own heart, unable to believe for even a moment that she might just feel the same way about him.

Now his worries had been laid to rest and he basked in the relief he felt, leaning his forehead against hers. There was an easy silence for a time until Anzu spoke quietly, asking a question that caught Yami off guard.

"Are you going to kiss me or am I going to have to make the first move?"

Pulling back slightly, startled, Yami caught the look in her eyes. Her eyes had always revealed her emotions, and her current desire was plain to see.

Smirking, he pulled her flush against him. "Well, I can't make you wait longer than you have already, now can I?" Now that he'd been assured of her feelings for him, his confidence was making a comeback.

His low, husky voice sent delightful shivers down her spine. Tilting her head back slightly, she eagerly met his lips, savoring the experience. The kiss revealed just how deeply they felt about the other, leaving them both breathless.

A sudden shushing noise coming from the other side of the door broke them apart. Yami glared in the direction of the door before smirking lightly. Turning to Anzu, he was pleased to see her dazed eyes focus on him. Grinning, he crept over to the door.

Anzu's eyes flickered over to the door, confusion evident in her gaze. Yami motioned her to be quiet before yanking the door open without a warning.

The rest of the gang tumbled into the room, landing in a large pile of limbs. Yugi managed to end up on top and he beamed up at the two, quite obviously trying to escape from whatever punishment awaited him. "I tried to tell them not to do it, but they wouldn't listen." There were immediately loud protests heard from beneath him.

"Oh yeah? Like I heard any protesting from you when we were listening!" Jonouchi growled from the bottom of the pile. "And would you all get offa me? You're heavy!"

Yami and Anzu just watched in vague amusement as the four of them sorted themselves out. Leaning over to Anzu, Yami spoke quietly. "So what do you think? Should we punish them for spying on us, or just let them be?"

Anzu giggled, leaning against his shoulder briefly. "Oh, I'm sure we can think of something to do to them. But not right now."

Jonouchi grinned, finally standing up from the cluster of tangled bodies. "Well, it's about time you two got together." The new couple blinked and turned to look at him in mild confusion. Jonouchi grinned. "Well, you've only been droolin' over each other ever since Duelist Kingdom."

"Jonouchi!" Anzu shrieked, blushing a brilliant crimson shade. She was about to launch herself at the blond when he suddenly was knocked back to the floor, courtesy of a fist to the back of his head.

Otogi smirked down at him triumphantly before frowning thoughtfully. "Hey, I just thought of something." Everyone turned to face him. "Since Anzu managed to beat Yami, I guess she's now the Queen of Games, isn't she?"

Everyone laughed as Anzu blushed an even deeper red. Yami's arms wrapped around her waist, pulling her to lean against him. A soft smile appeared on Anzu's face as she leaned against her new boyfriend, grateful that he'd finally come to terms with both his feelings and his past.

* * *

**_AN: *anxious face* So how was it? I hope it came out alright and that everyone enjoyed it. Because I`m afraid that this will be my final YGO fic. I may do periodical updates of my others, but I can`t guarantee that, so don`t hold me to it please._**

**_I will eagerly await your verdicts and *gulp* potential rants about the time._**


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